Hawking Games
by 3n0la
Summary: Hawke wasn't always so skilled with a weapon. Once, she was just a girl, but with an apostate for a sister she could never stay as such. While she wouldn't have an impact on the world until Kirkwall, her story truly begins with her move to Lothering, where she learned hiding wasn't an option that lasted forever. For her family, she'll do anything, even spoil her own hands in blood.


Hawking Games

Hawking_. Verb. _1. To hunt with falcons, hawks, etc.

2. To fly in quest of prey.

Game. _Noun. _1. A competitive activity involving skill, chance or endurance on the part of two or more persons, often to their own amusement or for that of spectators.

2. Pertaining to or composed of animals hunted or taken as game.

* * *

_Though stung with a hundred arrows,_

_Though suffering from ailments both great and small,_

_His heart was strong, and he moved on_

—The Chant of Light

* * *

The Hawke family's life in Harper's Ford ends when the girls of the family burst through the front door, the eldest looking ragged and beaten, the youngest having to support her sister through the doorway. Leandra had been in the midst of cleaning her favourite bowl, one that had been crafted by her husband back when they just started dating, but one look at her daughter left her in such a shock she dropped it and the bowl shattered against the floor. In a mad scramble, she rushed to her daughter's side, sending Bethany off to fetch their father, using what leftover poultices and potions they had left to look over her daughter's wounds.

"How did this happen?" Leandra had asked repeatedly. "Who would do such a thing to a child?"

Her eldest simply brushed it off with a forced laugh. "I was careless, that's all," she said. "Don't worry about it."

Leandra did worry about it; she worried about it a great deal. Her daughter was only thirteen, and she had already gotten into a serious scuffle. Knife wounds laced along her arms, her nose was bloodied and broken, and her left shoulder was not only out of place, but was severely burned, the mark creeping so far as to the side of her neck. Leandra had never been well versed in fighting and the like, but she could tell simply from the wounds that this "carelessness" of her daughter's had every intention to kill her.

Malcolm arrived shortly after she finished cleaning all the wounds and, without the normal cautionary route he took in securing the household, he immediately set to using what healing magic he could. Bethany had returned with Carver, and the two stood in the far corner of the room, watching as their father worked his magic on their sister, the close way in which they huddled together signifying their own worry.

"Leandra," Malcolm said, not taking his eyes off his daughter. "Could you take the kids and make some food and tea? I'll take care of her, you needn't fret."

Leandra did as she was asked, dragging the twins into the kitchen behind her. She wanted to stay by her eldest's side, hold her hand and whisper her soothing words as her mother used to with her whenever she was ill, but she knew better: that wouldn't help, and in fact it may hinder her recovery. Healing had never been Malcolm's strong suit, and Malcolm needed as little distraction as possible to make sure he performed it properly.

"Carver, would you run out and get some water from the mill?" she asked. Carver, like the good little boy he was, grabbed the bucket and ran out the door. Since there was nothing she could do without the water, she turned her focus on Bethany.

"What happened?" she asked, maybe a bit too harshly, judging by the girl's sudden tensing of the shoulders.

Bethany looked away. "I don't know," she said.

"Don't lie to me Bethany. I know you know; now tell me what happened. How did your sister end up like that?" Still Bethany refused to meet her mother's eye, keeping her mouth shut. "Bethany!"

"I can't say!" Bethany said with such a force and suddenness behind it that Leandra was taken aback for a second. "Sister told me not to tell anyone, not even you, or daddy, or Carver. She made me swear!"

Leandra sighed. "You won't tell me?" Bethany shook her head. While normally Leandra admired the loyalty her eldest inspired in others, particularly her siblings, it was times like this that she wished her eldest's words weren't always taken as law. "Can you at least tell me this; are they—whoever did this to your sister—likely to come back? Did she anger some important people?"

"No." Bethany was speaking in an almost whisper, as though reluctant to give out even that much. "Sister didn't get anyone mad; they got her mad. She was very mad, and the—they didn't like her getting mad so they… I couldn't do anything mommy, and I was so scared, but sister was there. Sister…sister also says they won't come after us, but that others might. She says staying could be very, very bad."

"Thank you Bethany. Now go out and buy some tea leaves, would you?"

Once Bethany too left her, Leandra let her weak knees buckle beneath her. She couldn't be certain of what happened, but from what Bethany said she could make a pretty good guess, and she was afraid to learn whether or not she was right. If her eldest had really gotten herself mixed up in such a dangerous situation, there was not much else they could do but leave Harper's Ford. They hadn't even been there two years yet, and already they needed to pack up and move. She longed for the day she could find a place to stay permanently, without fearing being run out the village once more.

Tonight she would have to talk to Malcolm about where they could possibly move to next. If this kept up much longer, they may even be forced to leave Ferelden itself.

* * *

**I just really wanted to flesh out Hawke's background, because I thought it would be interesting enough as it was and it had always been nagging me as to where she learned to fight like she did (if she's a rogue or warrior). Carver too, of course, and I also wanted some family dynamics between all three siblings without changing in-universe outcomes.**

**Also, Hawke will be a rogue in this story, as I like the idea of the complete Mage, Rogue, Warrior trinity the siblings make when she's one. I put a poll up on my profile for whichever personality she should have, and though I don't expect too many answers, I will follow whichever one wins. Thanks!**


End file.
